While technologies have evolved, sadly the wisdom to use them hasn't.
That is why I have characterised our civilisation as still in its adolescence. Adolescents often exhibit strong desires to show-off their power and strength. When it comes to civilisations, this involves hegemons controlling populations through power and often enforcement. This has been going on for around 5,000 years. Take a look at the
Hegemonies over the ages:graphics produced by Perplexity.ai. The timelines are illustrative, but it gives a pretty good sense of how long humanity has been under the control of hegemons. Recent forays into democracy give an illusion of citizen control, and certainly an improvement on former exploitative environments of serfdom, or parlous existence under dictators, absolute rulers and the like. Yet, William Shakespeare described it well in the Macbeth play:
''And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.''
Technologies have evolved since the Mesopotamians, most dramatically since WWII, at an ever accelerating pace, but humanity is still governed and controlled by hegemons strutting their stuff with insatiable egos. 5000 years is a long time to grow out of the adolescent phase of civilisation. Could it be that we are on the verge of a shift to adulthood? What will it take to generate that shift? How long might it take - a hundred years? Five hundred? Another millenium? Whatever the timeframe, something of enormous magnitude, perhaps a near-extinction event, might generate that turning point. Certainly, while there are little springs of hope dotted around the world, in businesses, communities and spiritual influences, it is very unlikely that our Net Zero timelines, even the most aggressive, will suffice.
What is needed is a major consciousness upgrade across humanity. I'll explore this more in a book I am writing, and hope to publish before the year's-end.
Here's hoping!
